Of Ragged Roses, And Listless Lilies
by The Black Moon
Summary: Yet another nonyuri sister story for KagKan. AU. Takes place in modern times where two sisters must cope with a deranged and abusive father, who begins to start a feud with their new neighbors. Canon pairings. Rating for violence n lang, things to come
1. Prelude Poem

_**Of Ragged Roses, And Listless Lilies: **_

_**-Prelude-**_

Hard things, mean words fly around,  
Teardrops fall without a sound.  
Shattered glass and piercing screams  
Have done nothing but broken dreams.

Bang, bang, bang.  
Drop, drop, drop.  
Yell, yell, yell,  
And cry, cry, cry.  
These sounds, they ream the night.

Shiny toys, pixie dust, and angel's wings;  
I've left behind all my childhood things.  
War and death, it's all I know...  
Like the line in the sand, and a rose in the snow.  
This is the place that I call home.

Never knew love, never had hope;  
All that she had hung by the rope.  
Battered by day, and weeping in the night,  
She cries in silence for them, for someone  
In the moonlight.

Little angels go away,  
Big grey storm clouds come my way;  
Chase away all of my frets,  
And leave no trace of my regrets.

Everything is wrong.  
Nothing is right,  
But something calls me here,  
Keeps me here...  
Here...  
In this tattered place that I call home.

* * *

Author's note: I know well that one of the verses is written in second/third person as opposed to the overlapping first persona, but that's intentional; the child who is reciting the poem had made a parody of their own life, so as a means of 'this isn't happening to me… it's someone else's life, not mine, it's just a bad dream… a bad story' type of thing. Which often happens. This is also on my deviantART and my fictionpress account, soon to be on my xanga… just to clear that up.

Enough of that; this is a prelude to my new story, **ORR&LL**. The story isn't poetry at all; this is just kind of… a preview to it. The real introduction/prologue to the story itself will be up soon. Yes, it's yet another… -GASP!- sister story, soon to be played out along with a companion fic; one told from the new neighbors' perspectives. Which will undoubtedly be a Kikyou/Inuyasha/Kagome fic. Ha. Triangles… Yes, by the way, as previously noted, this is an AU, by far an AU according to many standards. The companion fic… I'm not sure what the title will be yet, but I've got the plot down. The first chapter for this one is currently in heavy progress, and it's a lot longer than most of my intro chapters are… okay, longer than ANY of my intro chapters thus far. The companion intro to this story will be just about as long… For a pairing in this one, though… I'm kind of debating over whether or not to add Inu-kun's brother in it. For said pairing reasons. It's not that I don't support the pairing, it's just that… Well most of my prior readers should know that I'm not exactly the most romantic of people… And that is one incredibly difficult pairing to write. But eventually, he might actually show up and be… him. –Laughing- Tell me whether or not you feel it's a good idea; I seriously don't want to mess up that pairing (which… I might… like I said: Stoic and cold meets feisty and bitchy. But I'll try if I, you, or even a combination so desires to see my attempt.) Never mind about that right now.

Please review, and I will be sure to get the real first chapter up soon!

Be well!


	2. Time And Those Things

Author's note: Finally, I've decided to write up an AU! …Well, it's not the first I have written, but it's the first to be written for this site. Hehehe…we must split hairs, huh? Please note, however, that this is a companion fic to my other AU that I'll be posting in around a week or so, and that one focuses on the viewpoints of the 'other half' of this story. Confusing as this may already sound, that's just on my part; if you've read anything else that I've written, you probably already know that I'm not good with summing things up.

To warn you: this A/N is going to be somewhat longer than the rest of them, since there's going to be a bit of explaining to do. And to be fair, the chapter itself will be longer than the author's note.

The basic plot of this fic came about when I was cleaning/packing up my room at my father's house (we were getting ready to move) and already wanting to do another AU, and I stumbled upon one of my old toys: A stuffed cygnet (or more commonly known as a swan baby…). I got around to thinking of my sister fic already up, Shimai, and then, well…the cygnet was white, and…yeah. An ugly duckling-esque story, I'll admit, but not too far into that extent. (And to those of you who may or may not be wondering, yes, I'm still working with the prior fic in question) But since then (a few weeks ago), I've kept getting all these different ideas for the story, and my mind won't let me get back to anything else until I've posted this one. Grr. I abhor my ADD.

It would be WAY too long to write all the explanations for the whole story thus far into this lone A/N, so I'm going to end up doing the explanations for what happens/what's relevant to the character's canon (in the fic, mind you) issues (for lack of better term) with the chapter that they first appear in. How's that? Since this is the first chapter, the protagonists are being introduced, as well as their main functions in the story; that is unless they are developed later. Soooo… My giving them these problems (some will be more obvious than others, example being the heart thing) have much to do with the characters' original attributes in the manga/anime. Since the heart will be overly obvious, it's going unmentioned.

McDonald's: Heh. An inside joke type of thing. I was joking around with me-me, and we ended up saying that she was upset, having had a bad day at work. So I was ordering something at McDonald's, and the employee that was serving me simultaneously seemed to be having an off-day; hence the establishment.

The cygnet plushie: One was obvious, aforementioned childhood toy of mine. Pretty self-explanatory. Two: hey. She's got to be attached to something that I can explain well enough, and I wanted it to be slightly creative (laughing at myself now), so no mirror thing.

The neighbors: I most certainly did not want the rivalry to be forced, and I actually wasn't planning on originally putting the gang in here, but I got the idea that…well you'll probably read it anyway (if you haven't already gotten fed up with this A/N and either skipped or blown the whole story off).

His smoking: It fit in between his original trademark shouki/miasma and their heart troubles, so there.

That said, (it's been officially a whole page long now) I'd leave you to read.

**

* * *

Of Ragged Roses, and Listless Lilies:**

**Chapter one/ introduction: **

Some things don't go as we planned, and some things just weren't supposed to happen… But regardless of whether or not they were supposed to, they happen anyway, and we have to learn to accept them… 

"But apparently a certain **someone** doesn't **realize** that, do they!" Crimson irises flashed violently to the left, glancing over at a tall, dark figure that was hovering over by a dusty window, binoculars clenched tightly in their hands.

The man turned suddenly to the girl, sneering. "Shut up, bitch." On his eye's journey back to the window, he made note of the clock, "Get your ass to work."

Eyebrows pressed thinly to her lashes, Kagura propped herself up from her slouching position in the near-ancient recliner, mumbling something to herself that consisted mostly of the words 'bastard,' and 'slave driver' as she stood. The strong stench of cheap tobacco smoke filled her lungs, and she felt her chest tighten. The term 'chain smoker' also escaped her.

The apartment was small, aged, and overly neglected in its three or so decades of living; dust particles could be seen easily by the naked eye at all times of the day, with the exception of Naraku's cigarette smoke pouring through the rooms he occupied…which usually was one possessing a window that enabled him to look at their neighbor, the charity worker/medical student, Shogami Kikyou. Which Kagura always found a bit ironic.

The man was a psychotic freak, even by the average stalker standards. He rarely ever left the apartment complex, he had children to find jobs to support their rent money for the flat, to go and run errands for him, to beat senseless or even kill on a whim. When he did decide to leave, when ever apocalypses were nearing, he would disappear for days, weeks, or even months at a time –not that that was truthfully a problem with anyone- and return with various spiritual or black magic oddities from multiple countries.

On another occasion, he would have been following 'his' woman around, to where ever it was she went to, likely unnoticed until whoever came in contact with her had either mysteriously vanished or had been found brutally murdered. At that point, she had always returned home, with her stalker (still unbeknownst to her) close in tail.

After pulling on a light jacket and grabbing hold of her purse, she begrudgingly made her way to the front door, still muttering assorted insults to her deranged father, who was still watching the young woman next door.

The streets were beginning to get warmer, more humid in the mix of all the exhaustion leaking through factories, vehicles, and the early-afternoon sun peaking through the smog ridden clouds. Through the cracked glass of her watch, Kagura made a mental note of it being dangerously close to her shift opening. _Damnit! _

She rushed through the crowd, pushing and shoving her way in between passerby; salesmen and solicitors pitching their hands out in front in hopes of either stopping her or something to eat. She felt a small twinge of guilt for the latter, but had no time to pause or pay much heed. Her manager had made a reminder to her a day prior that she had been coming in late frequently, and she would have no more chances anymore to redeem herself. Though it was a paltry minimum wage hold, her life, as she knew it was on the line.

Bursting through the back door to the establishment, she was promptly greeted by the manager. "Any later and you would have to be fired."

Kagura stole a quick glance up at the clock above the grill: right on time. "I'm not late."

He turned away, walking back into his office, "I didn't say you were. I said that you were close."

Narrowing her eyes at the closed door, she slipped on the trademark T-shirt over her jacket, and tied her hair back loosely. After she had completed performing the daily ritual with the washing of her hands, her feet began to make their way to the counter.

Having exchanged glances with the young man already there, whom was quite perturbed with his minute-longer-than-usual-shift, she took his place and glanced around the McDonald's eatery. She was thankful that she had just traded her shift for this specific time a few weeks ago, since it was the easiest time of day to work: Dead hour. Unfortunately, this was also the most boring period of the day to work.

She pulled up a stool from the back, returning to the counter with her chin propped up into her palm. It was empty. The establishment was empty, save for an old woman in the corner, who was there most days at that time, most had noted, staring out the window from an enormous and thick pair of old glasses. Some days, the woman would read something, and for some reason, the sight of the old hag always managed to creep out some of the workers.

Why, Kagura had no idea; then again, she was also used to the feeling of being around quiet, solemn persons whom gave off somewhat of an eerie energy. But at that, she was also accustomed to living with a neurotic, loud, and completely unnerving jackass. Well maybe not accustomed to it, but… well used to it enough to say it wasn't an unusual thing to see.

Glancing over towards the old woman, she sighed a little. She was, again, for some reason, very intriguing- in an enigmatic sort of way- to her; but sometimes… enigmas can be mistaken for bad things. Enigmas can be misunderstood.

* * *

A pair of ghostly pale hands gripped the pen firmly, scribbling furiously down onto a crinkled piece of paper. Eyes fixated determinedly to the words pouring out from the blue ink, Kanna sat on the bench at the edge, scrunched up a little, protectively.

Hunched over the paper, the ten-year-old little girl attempted to immerse herself in her writing; hidden amongst countless trees. It was the beginning of Spring, bringing both a brisk, harsh wind that nipped at her cheeks, threatening to blow away the precious papers, and light green blossoms to the trees; both opposing in contrast to one another.

It was recess, and she always made it a point to try and keep far away from her cruel classmates, who made endless remarks about her odd appearance, sometimes ganging up on her, some holding her down while others hit or threw things at her, still the rest watching and tormenting her relentlessly. The teachers either didn't notice or didn't care, since it was extremely hard not to notice a large band of children randomly gathered on the playground, Kanna was assuming that it was the latter.

There were a few exceptions, however. There was Kohaku, another quiet boy who was around a year older than her; he never seemed to do anything, though, he really was helpless to it. But at least he didn't hurt her. Then there was Rin, possibly the brightest and bubbly girls she had ever encountered. Younger by at least a year, she tried to offer the bashful albino girl her condolences, but was also unable to do much about the other children's behaviors. There was another boy in her class, but she couldn't remember his name, she wasn't sure that she had heard it to start with, though. He didn't pay much mind to her, looked as though he pitied her from time to time, but didn't pay heed to her dilemma.

The trees' great limbs and branches offered some protection from the sunlight and the gusts of wind, at the same time making her to feel a bit protected from her peers.

It was something of a comfort, to be alone. She had decided that it was far better a luxury than being surrounded with pain and that indescribable despair. Not a bad thing at all, no.

Looking up briefly from her musings, her blank eyes scanned the area for signs of said atrocities. Finding that the wooded region of the playground was empty, only exception being herself, she nodded her head back down to her makeshift journal.

Alas, her ears picked up the distant but unmistakable sound of the bell ringing, the ever telltale acknowledgement that her 'me-time' had come to an end. Cramming the already disheveled papers into her backpack, she stood and began to make her way into the school building. Kanna began to wonder what the point of her free time was if it was only to be taken away so abruptly.

As the mental dread and depression rose, so did the clenching pain in her chest; it ebbed unnervingly into her esophagus, eventually making her bruised face sore.

Such was her unending routine. This pain had used to be subtle, worrying her a bit, but gradually, as it grew, her concern over it began to diminish. It became a normal part of her life; just as the beatings and scorn she received daily from her father and classmates. It became as dull as waking up; it was just there.

* * *

Break time. Elegant but bruised and sore fingers formed a fist in the air as Kagura slammed her hand down onto the marble counter in triumph.

After the young man had returned to the counter in her place, a little refreshed from his previously peeved mind set, she made her way to the manager's office, knocking on the door as she passed. "Break time; I'm leaving, and I'll be back on time."

A distorted voice came from behind the door. "You'd better."

She rolled her eyes towards the back of her head, pulling off the degrading mandatory T-shirt and taking her hair down again. Stuffing the offending clothing into her bag, she opened the back door and began to make her way towards the elementary school.

The streets were still packed, but it was a lot more tolerable now. The salesmen had gone off and done… whatever it was that salesmen did. Solicitors had found their ways into someone's home or building, at least one that permitted them to enter. Many assorted people were out now, mostly parents and their children walking home from school, or random teenagers scrawling around with spray cans, busying themselves with things she had never had the time or opportunity to do. Others were still some of the formerly mentioned beggars, old and young homeless people sitting at street corners, along with the prostitutes and various pedestrians. Sirens went off in the distance, and some of the said teenagers fled from their graffiti.

It wasn't the best part of town, but at least it wasn't so bad as to where people like her father were running around wildly with their eccentricities. It wasn't that bad. Kagura smiled to herself, but then rushed on ahead; she only had thirty-five more minutes to pick up her sister and drag her back to work.

* * *

At the McDonald's, Kanna sat in the booth furthest away from the register in which Kagura was stationed, arguing with a troublesome customer over whether or not something or another should be charged for. Eventually the manager came out and attempted to reason with the angered customer, finally managing to work out a compromise: The customer got what he wanted for free, mostly because of the trouble that the red-eyed seventeen-year-old had stirred, but that he would not get that luxury again.

She wrote more notes on another piece of blank notebook paper, smiling a little as she finished and put it away in her backpack. Turning here attention to the clock on the wall, she read off the time: 6:18 pm; about two and a half more hours until she and her now fuming sister went home. She folded her covered arms in front of her on the table after pushing aside the remnants of her French fries (an added bonus of Kagura's working there) and rested her head down in them, closing her eyes along with the slamming glass exit door (courtesy of the noted customer).

* * *

"Kiddo…"

Kanna's eyes opened slowly from their sleep as she felt a range of fingers tapping her shoulders lightly. Kagura shook her a little, picking up both of their bags and raising them to be carried on her shoulder.

Blinking away traces of wariness, she slid out from the booth and walked across the tile with the elder of the two, clutching her sweater tightly against herself as they exited into the bitterly cold night.

Armed with two heavy bags slung across her shoulder, the teenager dragged her younger sister along closely by the wrist, pulling through menacing crowds of criminals, yet more solicitors, bums, and run aways. The dark of the night was when the sidewalk was paved with these people; this was their time to fly.

Most of them were relatively harmless, but there were some crazed lunatics mixed in with them as well.

The cold stung their faces with such a force that it was difficult to believe that it was Spring.

* * *

Upon unlocking and entering the door to the apartment stealthily, Kagura was greeted with a forceful slap to the face that was sure to leave a mark, and Kanna with a strong push to the side and up against a wall.

"You damn bitches are late." Came the sordid voice from which these attacks were. "And now look what happened!" Naraku gestured wildly towards the window, glaring daggers at it as though it had cut him.

Regaining composure and frowning deeply at him, Kagura made her way over to the dirty window, peeking through the multiple stains of tobacco smoke. She came to face with an odd looking young man, with white-ish/silver hair and a baseball cap and amber eyes, carrying a filled box into a flat very close to Kikyou's and theirs.

Turning back to him, she kept her stance and her expression. "So it's **our** fault someone moved in? How the fucking hell were **we** supposed to know that we had power over that!"

She was met with a stronger blow to the stomach, releasing a tiny gasp as the impact took it's toll and she fell with a 'clump' to the hollow, musty floor.

"Whore! You should've come sooner to help me light them on fire!" He bellowed, spidery eyes widening with rage and derangement.

Kanna trembled quite noticeably as she recovered from the rendezvous with the wall, watching in more silence as her sibling get beaten down some more by their father, who finally lost interest in doing so and left to another room to begin plotting ways to get rid of the new neighbors, leaving his oldest daughter to lay there, unmoving, but still conscious.

It was a never-ending cycle, but after a while, she had gotten used to it. Spending too much time doing things like that can make it go numb, almost non-existent. It was just there.

A light burned from the other side of the windows, followed by a fist knocking softly on the front door to the flat. An unfamiliar voice called through simultaneously, "Hello! Is everyone all right in there?" The child took it as the aforementioned neighbor who seemed to cause so much trouble. "Hello?" Eventually the knocking ceased, and the boy returned to his own apartment, and they realized that soon, no matter what Naraku did, that this, too, would become one of those things that was just… there.

**_End Ch.1_**


	3. Hellholes and McDonald pt1

Author's note: This chapter is based off of an experience that I've had quite a lot, and I'm sure there's at least one of you who've had this problem at one point, too. It's rather common… or it is in this part of Texas, anyway… It sure isn't funny when you're sick, and it's happening to you, but it's kind of humorous when I look back on it.

No real other explanations for this chapter, with the exception that our favorite 'ice block' has been decidedly added, from both the suggestions, and I mean the dude's got to get mad and make light-hearted humor at _someone_, right? And who do you think it's gonna be? Wolfie can't be here the whole time!

Reviews:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I AM SO TERRIBLY SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE, A LOT'S COME UP LATELY, AND I'VE HAD VERY LITTLE TIME TO MYSELF FOR UPDATING ANYTHING. THINGS SHOULD SLOW BACK DOWN AFTER THE THIRD WEEK IN JANUARY, SO UPDATES WILL BE MORE REGULAR AGAIN. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER AND THOSE FOLLOWING AS MUCH AS YOU HAVE THE PRIOR, AND THE VERY BEST WISHES FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND NEW YEAR. Be well.

* * *

Forcing open one eyelid cautiously, Kagura greeted the morning world with a pounding headache and a hot, musty air that was enough to smother her. She put a sore hand to her forehead, pressing hard between her eyebrows with only one thought ringing throughout her mind. _Damn that asshole…_

Blinking away the coloured spots that set themselves before her eyes, she attempted warily to take in her surroundings. Unable to think correctly with most of her mind plagued with the torrent of heat, she turned to the thermostat only to find it useless; after a few moments, she came to find that everything else that ran on electricity was just as well. _Damn you, too. _

Knowing that it would be futile to check the clock, the disheveled young woman made her way into her and her sister's room to try to remedy the situation.

She found the girl squirming restlessly in her sleep, gripping the edge of her old mattress as tightly as she probably could. Tiny beads of sweat had claimed her face, pressing themselves to her frown.

_Kanna's still asleep… so it can't be that late…_

Feeling some sense of relief that she (most likely) wasn't going to be late for work, Kagura set about digging through the drawers of their dresser to find something suitable to wear for the weather. She finally settled on a navy t-shirt that had it's right sleeve cut off to the shoulder, and a worn out pair of denim shorts.

Having stepped out in the hallway with out a sudden outburst from either side of her, she took it that her father was still asleep as well. Which was a good thing. Deciding to leave both his room and his 'favorite' window alone, she opened every other door and window with hopes to catch any breeze that drifted in or out. Sneering at the caked on tobacco stains and dust that had accumulated on everything she looked at, she felt an incredible urge to grab hold of a wet rag and wipe everything clean.

The smell was intoxicating, the sight of it was painfully nauseating; it was viler than the grime she'd discovered in the sink drain when she was a little girl. For some strange and alien reason, however, Naraku couldn't stand to have the nasty substances washed away. The moment, she had thought, that she was able to understand his twisted way of thinking was the very same moment that she'd rip her own head off.

Soft footsteps trailed in her direction from further down the hallway. Jerking her head around, Kagura was amply gratified to find that it was only her tired younger sister walking in a daze towards the sofa in the 'living' room.

Appearing much like a wilting flower that had its colour drained out of it, Kanna plopped herself onto the cushions, or rather _fell_ onto them, almost dramatically. She let out a light sigh, and closed her eyes as though they'd had rocks that were pushing down upon their lids.

And then, much to her greatest irritations, Kagura heard the one thing she had been hoping above all else that she wouldn't.

"BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!"

Well if it isn't fucking Mary Sunshine himself… 

Groaning inwardly, she left her hold on the carpet and walked slowly to where her father was.

His bedroom was even filthier than the other parts of the apartment, and creepier than she remembered from the last time she had been in there. Voodoo dolls, dead plants with thorns that had crumbled and turned a disgusting shade of black and brown, broken knick knacks, pictures with people or faces scribbled out, and countless other defective possessions had been crammed into an enormous mess. The stench of chemicals and cigarettes clung to everything, and mildew was present on what could be seen of the carpet and walls. She'd long since made it a point to stay away from the room as much as possible, and was exceedingly thankful that he was hidden in the shadows.

_SO nasty. _"What?"

"The power's out!"

_Why yes, it is, how observant of you! _"And?"

"**And** you're going to get your ass to work fixing it."

_How the hell am I supposed to fix it? _"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" _Oops…_

He seemed to be in a lack of energy, for he didn't lash out any more than he had been. "That isn't my problem."

_Like hell it's not. _She watched him walk out of the room, wishing she hadn't had to see his overly greasy hair matted thickly to the back of his head. Actually, she wished she just flat out hadn't seen him period.

She raced out of the room and slammed the door shut behind her, glad to be able to leave it. When she reached the living room, Kagura saw that 'it' was standing at 'its' usual vantage point in front of the window, and that Kanna had disappeared from the ancient looking couch and had gone off somewhere else.

"You're not doing anything."

Mentally rolling her eyes, she turned around and headed back to her room and pulled out her cell phone from her purse. Observing the miniature watch blinking on the screen, she cursed herself for not thinking to use it to check the time earlier.

After she had made her fill of sparing the main office's assistant a number of choice words about the predicament the entire complex had found themselves in, she glanced briefly at the time on her cell. _Time to go. _

Before she could finish walking down the hallway, Naraku caught up to her and demanded to know if she had seen about fixing the power yet.

"I called the main office; there's not much _else _that I can do."

"I don't give a flying rat's ass what you can do, but when I get back, it damn well better have been fixed. Or we're going to have some serious issues."

_As if you don't already. _"And when exactly do you plan to get back?"

"Later."

_Oh, thanks. _"**When** is 'later?'" A fist came soaring into the wall, mere centimeters from her head, but she kept glowering straight ahead.

"WHENEVER THE HELL I WANT GOD DAMNED 'LATER' TO BE!"

_Ass. _She let out a great sigh, and groaned in frustration as she walked away and returned once again to the living room. Kagura slipped into a pair of black sandals and retrieved her work uniform from the shoe closet, not noticing the child splayed out in front of the door until her feet had almost crushed her.

Raising an eyebrow, she dared to inquire. "Dead, huh?"

Silence followed, and the girl truly did look half-dead, her dark eyes vacant and her expression vague. Even though she had simply been in that position to catch a better breeze, the way Kanna had strewn herself across the floor and managed to keep so still made her older sister nearly shiver or want to burst out laughing, she wasn't quite sure which.

"Are you coming?"

Eyes widening a bit, she seemed happy to climb up off the floor and vanish into the shadows, to come back in moments with her torn bag and slide into a pair of sandals.

Not a word was exchanged between the two when they strolled out the door and down the stairs, it would be a longer walk than usual, but when they would get to their destination, they'd be all too pleased to be rid of the Sun's harsh rays.

* * *

When they'd gotten to the McDonald's, both of them felt and looked as though they had been thrown into a furnace, taken out, and tossed randomly in the ocean. Such a feeling of relief and rejuvenation was true bliss.

Kanna took her usual spot at the back corner and began passing the time however she could, just as Kagura took hers manning the cash register.

* * *

Her break came and went, seeming as short as ever, and another hour passed without problem. But it seemed that Kagura couldn't catch a break at all that day.

Her 'favorite' customer absolutely _had_ to come waltzing in, grinning in his normal, wolfish manner. Suddenly the line to the counter seemed far too short, and she found herself wishing that he could at least try to be civil.

_It **figures**. I don't know how, but **please** make him behave; PLEASE. _

Things had gone smoothly enough, she tried excruciatingly hard to catch everything he ordered the first time he said it, even though he spoke as if his mouth had by some means caught fire. He seemed pleased sufficiently until the total cost of the meal came up.

"Are you kidding me?"

_I try **so **inhumanely to get him out of here quickly, put up with his rate of speech (I mean does the guy even breathe?), act decent, even **smile** the whole time… but no. You jerk-offs up there hate me. I ask you, is it MY fault that he can't count? _

The same, phony smile plastered on her face, she clenched her teeth to keep from biting his head off. "No, sir, this is the total cost of the meal."

"This is unbelievable! How can you people charge this much for some third-rate garbage?"

_You know something… whatever-your-name-is? I've half a mind to ask you why the hell you come here so damned much if we serve garbage. _Of course she knew better than to tell him to give his services elsewhere; no matter how much she'd be thrilled to never see his face again. But that didn't stop her before, she'd brawl all she wanted. "Don't ask me, **sir**, but if you would be so kind as to either pay for your order or order something less costly." _Or leave… _

"If I _wanted_ something else, I would have told you."

"Then **please** pay for your order, **sir**." Her smile had since faded, teeth still clenched, she was quite ready to yell at him.

"I'm not _paying_ so much all because you don't have the math skills to ring something up the right way."

_Oh that does it, pal. _"I'm the one that can't add? Maybe your mind is lost to you, but if you'd taken the time to _think_ about everything you ordered, you wouldn't be questioning my mathematical abilities."

He looked stricken with something for a second, but finally conjured up some conclusion. "Are you calling me **stupid**?"

_And those weren't even difficult words…_"I'm _saying _that _this_ is the total cost of your meal, whether you think it is or not."

Kagura and her frequent customer went on and broke out into a long battle of words for several minutes, as they had the day before, and many days before that. The line had grown from two people to three people, and then from three to four, and so on. Two of those waiting in line had begun to converse amongst each other, behind them a toddler started whining and crying to his aggravated father, and behind them and elderly woman tapped her cane repeatedly on the tiled floor. Eventually the manager settled things between the two of them, as he always did, and sent the cocky young man on his way.

Finding Kagome immediately behind her hotheaded client was a pleasant change. Kagome was much more agreeable than many of the customers, and several employees including Kagura herself had taken up chatting with her on some of their breaks.

After her, was a strange looking young man that she found, for some reason, familiar. It wasn't until after he'd gone over to where he was going to sit that it struck her that he was the same youth she'd seen outside the window the night before. The new guy. Tending to the man and his complaining son (the 'brat,' as she knew him), she wished some bad luck his way for karmatic reasons. It was, after all, his fault that she had to wake up in so much pain this morning… well mostly it was, anyway.

* * *

At the dead hour, around three and four in the afternoon, Kagura realized that he was still sitting at the same booth as he had been around noon. _What the hell's he waiting for? _

He threw his trash away and strode back up to the counter and ordered another cheeseburger and fries. _Oh well, at least he's civil and making me more money for my paycheck. _

* * *

Kanna slumped down in her chair, bored with her writing and finished with her French fries. Resorting to drawing imaginary pictures and patterns on the tabletop with her finger, she held a conversation within her head… with herself.

There weren't a lot of people in the restaurant at that time of the day, so therefore nothing to watch or listen to.

It would have been a major understatement to say that she was surprised when the odd young man she had remembered as the one that had moved in across from them yesterday came to sit down at her table and attempt a conversation with her. She wasn't at all what you'd call a people person, not to mention that she had never carried on a good chat with more than a few people. She stayed silent mostly, but answered one or two of his questions.

When he stood and left to go back and sit at the booth he'd been occupying for the past few hours, she had to wonder if he was there, also, because of the power outage.

She looked to the wall clock in hopes that either it was close to eight o' clock or far from it. She couldn't honestly decide, but either way, it was only an hour and a half until they'd be leaving to go back to the apartment.

* * *

Notes: Two-parter! The other half of this chapter will be coming soon, when I get things settled down at home and am able to get back to updating regularly. Shimai's new chapter (to those of you that read it) will be uploaded around then; I'm not quite finished with that one yet.

I'm very tired at the moment, and that's why it's a little short, as it is currently one thirty in the morning (not as early/late as when I updated RFAWF yesterday, but...).

Reviews are appreciated, and be well!


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